Our Pastor Jerry was
ministering from Matthew 14:13-21 as I took notes.
Jesus was having a hard
day! He had just been to his home town
and was not well received. Then a
messenger brought him terrifying news about his cousin John being brutally
executed by Herod.
After all his personal
trauma, Jesus needed to have some quality time by himself, so he entered a boat
to go to a desert place where he could pray and have a quite time. But the crowds saw him leave and followed on
foot to meet him on the other side of the lake.
Jesus was so moved with
compassion that he ministered to them and healed many sick, but it was growing
late and there was no place to purchase food, and the people were tired and
hungry. The disciples wanted to send the
people away but Jesus said, “You give them to eat.” All they had was a small amount of food and
it would never be enough for such a large crowd
Matthew 14:17 And they said to Him, “We have here only five loaves and two fish.”18He said, “Bring them here to Me.” 19Then He commanded the multitudes to sit down on the grass. And He took the five loaves and the two fish, and looking up to heaven, He blessed and broke and gave the loaves to the disciples; and the disciples gave to the multitudes. 20So they all ate and were filled, and they took up twelve baskets full of the fragments that remained. 21Now those who had eaten were about five thousand men, besides women and children.
A large crowd can be unruly,
but Jesus told the disciples to have the people sit in small groups of about
fifty. He did not say, “Let us refer
this problem to our committee,” instead He said, “You give them something to
eat.”
The disciples were faithful
but blind as they obeyed to serve the food.
Was it magic? What happened? How was this possible? Why was there so much left over from only a
small lunch?
If you believe
the scripture, then it is evident that when Jesus broke the bread and each
disciple continued to break the bread and fish - - more was there until the
entire huge crowd was served.
I am reminded of
the poor widow who was visited by the Prophet Elijah. He asked her to bake him a cake, but she
said, “I have only this small amount of oil and flour for me and my son and
then we shall die.” Elisha told her, “Do
not fear but bake me a cake first,” so she did.
The amazing miracle was the oil and the meal continued to replenish and Elijah
and the widow’s entire household were fed for many days.
A quote from today’s bulletin was: “Compassion stems from a heart changed by the powerful love of Jesus. Christ demonstrated in this text what compassion does for the recipient and how a disciple learns the lesson of compassion.”
We may be at a standstill in our lives, but with a little Faith, God will provide. Are you planning to give up before the race begins?
We may be at a standstill in our lives, but with a little Faith, God will provide. Are you planning to give up before the race begins?
No let’s take another start
up and step up and take the leap of Faith.
May God bless us all, amen.
3 comments:
"Compassion" Vicki K
Good one, Hazel. We're not called to shrink in fear, but from pride. God demonstrates His power as He "prepares a table before us in the presence of our enemies." His sovereignty is revealed in our faithfulness and His power.
Great post! I've always loved this narrative for the way it demonstrates the love and compassion and Jesus. And have always been challenged by those words 'you give them something to eat.' I know how often I can generate reasons for wanting to pass the buck, but being reminded of Jesus' own anguish and his choice to continue sharing himself is both challenging and inspiring.
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